


Doors

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Series: Red Hood!Dick AU [15]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 04:18:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4290540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfred had always believed that Jason was too smart for his own good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Doors

**Author's Note:**

> Jason’s leather jacket is definitely Dick’s, I just didn’t get a chance to write that fact into this. The other Robins are much more astute than Alfred, Dick and Bruce give them credit for, so they all knew Dick missed Alfred. So it was definitely Jason’s plan from the start. But basically, Alfred has tried to stay out of the feud and be an objective observer, while still loving all parties involved. I got frustrated with the ending and just stopped it, so it’s probably terrible, sorry. :/

In all his years, he never could quite understand young Jason’s style. Part teenage boy, part hipster, part 1950s greaser, and part laziness.

Today, it seemed, he was going for greaser. A pair of boots, jeans, plain white shirt and dark leather jacket that was most definitely not his. A stark contrast to the wide, white teacup he was currently raising to his lips, and the polite cross of his ankles as he leaned back.

Alfred was always grateful that he got through to at least one of his grandchildren.

Jason chose that moment to notice him, and smiled, hastily setting down his cup. “Hey, Alf!” He called, sitting up and waving lazily. Alfred returned the gesture, ducking around the crowd on the sidewalk and plopping into the metal wire seat across from him. Jason grinned. Lopsided and goofy, like a dog’s. “Long time no see.”

“Entirely too long, if I may say so, sir.” Alfred smiled, though not as big as he wanted to. Too long? It’d been _months_. Months, and all Alfred has had of his children were mere voices on Batman’s radio network. Bruce claimed a few of them stopped by, but only to the Cave, and only after Alfred had gone to bed. Not on purpose, just unfortunate coincidence.

Jason snorted a laugh, quickly covering his mouth with a napkin. “You may, Alfie. You definitely may.”

A comfortable silence, then. As the waitress brought Alfred his tea, as he filled it with the proper extras and took a testing sip.

“So?” Alfred mumbled, noticing Jason still staring at him with that wistful smile.

“So?” Jason questioned, blinking in surprise. “So, what?”

“How are things?” Alfred asked bluntly. “How is your job? And by that I mean the _day_ one. Are you eating well? Are you getting proper sleep? Are you _bathing_?”

“Hey now.” Jason held his hands up in surrender. “I stopped that ‘not-bathing’ line of thinking when I was like fourteen.”

“And I still thank the heavens for that.” Alfred teased.

“Oh, come off it, old man.” Jason cackled.

Alfred smirked. “Now, now. All kidding aside. How are you, Master Jason? Really?”

“ _Really_ , Alfred. I’m great. Work’s great, sleep’s great, sibs are great.” Jason paused, then, pursing his lips just a little knowingly. “The Red Hood’s great, too.”

Alfred hesitated in his movement, glanced up at Jason a little sheepishly.

“You know,” Jason winked. “In case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t…” Alfred stuttered, such an odd sound for the old man. He clutched at his teacup. “I mean, I didn’t call you just…I do want to see _you_ , Jason, I-”

“I know, I know.” Jason smiled. Alfred sighed as he finally calmed down. “They all miss you too, you know. When Dickie messes something up, Damian _loves_ to claim how inferior his cooking skills are to yours.”

“Does he now?” Alfred hummed warmly. “And how is the boy? Is he…adjusting well?”

“Better than Bruce, from what Cass and Babs tell me.” Jason shrugged. “He’s having the time of his life, if I’m honest.”

“Oh?” Alfred sighed, quirking his lips just slightly. “And how does Richard feel about…”

“I have never _seen_ someone love their sibling so much. I think Dickie was smitten from baby’s first snark. Those two are ridiculous.” He shook his head fondly. “But they’re good. You wouldn’t…I mean _I_ don’t…approve, not really, but…he keeps Damian safe. He keeps _all of us_ safe. So I can’t…I can’t really say his method isn’t working.” Jason stuttered over the wording. He took a long gulp of his tea, smacking his lips thoughtfully. Suddenly he blurt out, “You want to go see him? Dick’s place isn’t too far from here, actually.”

“Oh no. I don’t want to intrude…” But Alfred could already see it was a losing battle, as Jason stood, throwing money down and motioning to the nearby waitress. “Jason, truly. I…I’ve been meaning to call Richard since he…” He gulped. “Since he returned to us. I’ll do it soon, we don’t need to-”

“Please, Dick won’t care.” Jason was rushing now, and Alfred found himself suddenly catching on. Jason had been awfully adamant about what café they ate at, what time they met. Had this…had this been his goal the whole time? He took hold of Alfred’s arm, gently tugging him. “He should be home right now, anyway.”

And that was all it took. There was no other discussion, no other arguments. Alfred blinked and they were around the corner, practically jogging.

“I mean, I guess being legally dead has its perks. Dude doesn’t have a job. Just works on his gear and strategy all day. I think, anyway.” Jason rambled joyfully. “I don’t know, I don’t have to time to go over there as often as before. Still once a week at least, though.”

They turned another corner, onto a quieter street, obviously residential. There were flowerbeds and open windows. Even a few children playing with chalk on the sidewalk. Still a little bit of graffiti, but the good kind. No gang names or threats or odd words. Kind ones, beautiful murals, inspirational phrases.

“Master Jason-”

“Look, don’t even try to argue, okay?” Jason scolded, though good-naturedly. “You’ve been silent about this whole Red Hood thing since it started, but that doesn’t fool me. You still miss the nerd. And it wasn’t very fair of him, visiting Cass and Babs, and even Bruce, if only to annoy him, but not come see you.”

“I’m sure Master Richard has his reasons.” Alfred muttered.

“Yeah, well, if he does, I’m sure they’re lame.” Jason steered off to a door, held it open for Alfred to go first. “Besides, you should probably see the kid, too. Report back to Batdad, tell him his kid is still as cranky as always and all that jazz.”

Alfred sighed, though still smiled, as he slipped through the door. Jason came through, waved to, Alfred assumed, the building manager, and glided over to the elevators. As they waited, Alfred glanced around. The walls were light blue, faint music coming from the office.

It was comfy. Homey.

“How many people believe Master Richard is Damian’s father?” Alfred asked absently.

Jason snorted loudly. “Pfft. Practically everybody. He told his one neighbor the kid was his brother. Dude flat out told him he was a liar.”

Alfred chuckled. “And how does Master Damian take it?”

“Suspiciously well. Only scoffs, as opposed to…scream and threaten death like he normally does.” Jason drawled as the elevator doors binged and opened. “I told you, Alfie. Those two are like peas in a pod. It’s weird.”

“Well, normal has never been the proper adjective for this family.” Alfred hummed. He lapsed into silence, then, incredibly hyperaware of the gnawing feeling in his gut.

Pictures, that’s all he’d seen of Richard since…since. The Red Hood didn’t come around the manor, or the Cave. The Red Hood didn’t raid galas or come to social gatherings. Maybe a blurry cell phone picture from Jason or Stephanie every so often. Otherwise it was surveillance stills or…or the memories.

His laughter was the last thing Alfred heard that day, at breakfast.

Bruce carried a body home, but it wasn’t…it took Alfred days to admit that that was their boy, that was their Richard. Missing limbs, organs exposed, bones sticking out. Not moving. Dead. Dead, dead, dead.

The elevator rocked to a halt and pinged again. Alfred couldn’t help the jerk that echoed through his system. Jason, good lad that he was, didn’t mention it, just continued leading the way into the warmly lit hallway.

The door was halfway down the corridor, and Alfred couldn’t help but wonder if that was strategic. The duo had barely come to a stop when Jason began smacking his fist on the aged wood roughly.

“Dickiebird, open up!” He called over the loud thump of his hand. As he paused, Damian’s voice could be heard faintly from inside.

“Go away, Todd!”

Jason smirked, like it was some kind of inside joke.

“Come here and say that to my face, shrimpy, and maybe I will!”

There was a muffled shout from inside – most likely an equally snarky reply – but it seemed to have been cut off. There was the sound of footsteps, followed by the light clicks of a lock being opened.

Alfred felt his heart speed up. This is it.

(He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready to see his grandson again. What would he say? What would he do? How many times could he apologize? How long could he hold himself together?)

One last jiggle, then a sharp twist of knob and-

He was…short. That was the first thing Alfred noticed. Grown, bigger than he was when he died at sixteen, but smaller than Jason. He was in shorts and a t-shirt, sweaty like he’d just worked out. But his dark hair was ruffled and sticking up, like he’d just woken up from a nap.

“Jay, what’re you-” Dick was already on alert, already full of concern. But then his eyes twitched over Jason’s shoulder to Alfred, and it seemed like his whole body dropped in relief. “…Alfie?”

Alfred pressed his lips together and smiled, blinking rapidly. It was the only way to keep himself composed. “H-Hello, Master Richard.”

“Café around the corner was too overpriced.” Jason explained, pushing his way into the small flat. “You got any grub here?”

“Uh…yeah…” Dick muttered, still staring at Alfred. “Damian and I were just…brainstorming dinner.”

“Well then, thank _god_ we showed up when we did!” Jason drawled dramatically, flopping onto the sofa behind Damian, who was sitting on the floor, sketching against the coffee table. “You’re both crap at picking meals.”

“Like you’re any better.” Damian droned, not looking up from his work.

“Of course not. That’s why I brought Alfred.” Jason retorted, like it was obvious. “So, you’re welcome.”

And that seemed to break Dick from his surprised stupor. His face melted into a smile as he stepped forward, enveloping Alfred in his arms. “Yeah. Thank you, Jay.”

“You…you look well.” Alfred tried, returning the embrace. He sucked in a large breath, but he knew he wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all the one holding him.

“And you.” Dick laughed softly, leaning his head against Alfred’s. “I missed you.”

“And I you, sir.”

“I was going to come visit, I swear.” Dick promised. “I…Damian said he needed some things from the manor. I was going to call tomorrow. Day after, maybe.”

And just as eager as Alfred remembered. Just as loving, too. It wasn’t often they got second chances, not in their line of work. And this second chance wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but he’d take it. He’d take it and never let go. Alfred just held Dick tighter.

“Grayson, Todd already made enough commotion in the hall.” Damian called. “You don’t want Jamal to come yell at you again, do you?”

“No, I most definitely do not.” Dick laughed again, backing up a step. He hung onto Alfred’s shoulders for another second, before letting go and gesturing into the room. He gave Alfred a pleading, borderline pathetic smile. “But I wouldn’t mind a little culinary guidance?”

“Please,” Alfred laughed, shrugging off his coat and laying in gently across the chair next to Damian, rolling up the sleeves as he steered towards the kitchen. Suddenly his nerves were gone. There was no resurrection, no grand reunion. It was just Alfred Pennyworth, and three of his grandchildren. Like it always should have been. “When have I ever let one of you boys starve?”

**Author's Note:**

> [other Red Hood!Dick stories.](http://fishfingersandjellybabies.tumblr.com/tagged/RedHood%21Dick-au)   
> 


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